Avenger class ships are
designed as mine hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying
moored and bottom mines. The last three MCM ships were purchased in 1990,
bringing the total to 14 fully deployable, oceangoing Avenger class
ships.

These ships use sonar and video systems, cable cutters
and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote
control. They are also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships are
of fiberglass sheathed, wooden hull construction. They are the first large mine
countermeasures ships built in the United States in nearly 27 years.